ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pound — a weight
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. club — for dancing
  10. field — a subject
  11. saw — the tool
  12. club — for golf
  13. net — for catching
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. net — in sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. field — for sport
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. net — after costs
  20. spring — of water
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. field — farmland
  23. club — a group
  24. patient — calm and waiting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com